Nozzle



E. PETAU NOZZLE Dec. 4, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 7, 1954 ill!INVENTOR. ERIK PETAU AAWW P mi o a W :1

ATTORNEY E. PETAU NOZZLE Dec. 4, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filled June 7.1954 c lm I I W Will- JNVENTOR. ERIK .PETAU BY flrya-v A T TOR/V5 Y Dec.4, 1956 E. PETAU 2,772,706

NOZZLE Filed June 7, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. ERIK RETAU ATTORNEYE. PETAU Dec. 4, 1956 NOZZLE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 7, I954INVENTOR. ERIK PETAU ATTORNEY United States Patent NOZZLE Erik Petau,Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Aerojet-General Corporation, Azusa,Calif., a corporation of Ohio Application June 7, 1954, Serial No.434,753

Claims. (Cl. 141-346) This invention relates to the handling ofhazardous fluids, and in particular to a spill-proof nozzle and adaptercombination for connecting conduits to a receptacle to be filled.

In the handling of hazardous fluids such as white fuming nitric acid itis frequently necessary to utilize pressures as high as 600 lbs. persquare inch. Fluids'of this type and at this pressure are so dangerousthat any accidental discharge of the liquid or fumes is an extremepersonnel hazard. For this reason, ordinary fluid handling nozzles andtank closures are generally unsatisfactory inasmuch as they often permitdrainage, and usually lack interlocking means which positively preventaccidental discharge of the fluids.

While white fuming nitric acid is given as an example of a hazardousfluid for the handling of which this nozzle and adapter are well suited,it will be understood that the mechanism is also suited for handling awide range of other fluid so long as the materials of construction areselected to be resistant thereto. Therefore, the type of fluid beinghandled is no limitation in this invention.

In addition, since this fluid handling is customarily done in the fieldit is necessary to provide nozzles and adapters which are suflicientlyrugged to withstand a certain amount of abuse and even dropping withoutdischarging any of the hazardous fluids.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a simple andrugged nozzle and adapter combination which provides safety measures toprevent the opening of the nozzle when it is not connected to a tank, toprovide positive protection against the removal of the nozzle from thetank while the nozzle is open, and to insure that the tank remainsclosed except when the nozzle is attached.

This invention is carried out in combination with a tank for receivingfluids and a conduit for supplying same, the nozzle controlling the flowthrough the conduit, and the adapter serving to seal the tank exceptwhen the nozzle is attached and opened. 1 a

A feature of the invention resides in the provision of an adapter havinga passage therethrough with a closure member which normally closes thepassage and thereby the tank but which can be opened for admission offluids to said tank. The nozzle, which constitutes a feature of theinvention, comprises a nozzle body having an interior flow chamber whichinterconnects the supply conduit and an outlet through the nozzle fordischarge therefrom. A poppet valve serves to close the outlet as wellas to open the adapter when the nozzle is opened, said poppet valvebeing actuated by a handle.

Further features of the invention reside in the provision of safetyinterlock means which prevent the opening of the handle and thereforethe poppet valve unless the nozzle is attached to the adapter, and alsolocking means which prevent the nozzle from being withdrawn from theadapter while said nozzle is open, said interlock and locking meansbeing controlled by a cam plate. These and other features of thisinvention will be fully underice stood from the following detaileddescription and the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly in cross-section of a connected adapterand nozzle combination according to the invention with the nozzle opento permit stream flow;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional elevation of the adapter of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end view taken at line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an end view taken at line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a view of the top of the nozzle of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a rear view of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a detailed side elevation of a cam plate from from the nozzleof Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a bottom view taken at line 88 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a top view taken at line 99 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 10 is a cross section view taken at line 1010 of Fig. 8; and

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary cross-section view of a means for preventingconfusion between filling and return connections.

Fig. 1 shows a nozzle assembly 10 and an adapter assembly 11 joinedtogether. The adapter assembly 11 is intended to be attached directly toan opening in a tank wall 12 so as to provide a means for nozzleattachment during the filling operation, and means for sealing the tankwhen the nozzle is withdrawn.

Figs. 2-4 show the construction of the adapter assembly in detail. Anadapter body 13 is a generally circular structure having a central axis13a and a central passage 14 therethrough, and an attachment flange 15.To this attachment flange there is fitted a fill mating member 16 whichis annularly shaped, and also there is an attachment ring 17 which canbe fitted directly to the tank to plug the hole in the tank wall. Theadapter body 13, the fill mating member 16, and the attachment ring 17are all held together by means of bolts 18 threaded into the attachmentring 17. To the lefthand inner face of the adapter body 13 there isfastened an annular seal ring 19 having an interior sealing face 20.This seal ring 19 is attached to the adapter body by means of bolts 21.The adapter body also has a continuous annular flange 21a at its outerperiphery, said flange serving as hookengaging means.

A poppet guide member 22 is attached by means of bolts 23 to the adapterbody 13 inside the tank. This poppet guide member has three legs 24which are spaced from one another so as to leave gaps 24a therebetween.At the central portion of the poppet guide member distant from theadapter body there is a guide passage 25 within which a poppet pin 26can reciprocate. This poppet pin joins to a valve plug 27 or closuremember which is adapted to seal the central passage 14 of the adapterbody 13. A seal 28 is held to the outside of the valve plug 27 by meansof a collar 29' so that said seal 28 can bear against a sharp inner edge30' on the adapter body. A compressible spring 31 is disposed around thepoppet pin 26 between the valve plug 27 and the poppet guide member 22so as to force the valve plug away from said poppet guide member,thereby normally closing the central passage 14 in the adapter.

The nozzle 10 will now be described in detail with reference to Figs. 5and 6 for the external structures and Fig. 1 in respect to the internalconstruction. With particular reference to Fig. 1, there is shown anozzle body 32 which comprises an inlet conduit 33 having sight glasses34 therein so that the condition of the flowing stream may be observed.This inlet conduit passes through the arm 35 of the body to enter aninner flow chamber 36 disposed at the central axis 37 of the nozzle. Themain portion of the body surrounds this central axis 37 in an annularfashion, and there is an inwardly protruding shoulder 38 near the lefthand end of the flow chamber as shown in 3 Fig. 1. This defines a poppetpassage 39 through the left hand end of the nozzle body. A spacer 40 is'fitted in the poppet passage 39 adjacent the shoulder 38 and on the sidethereof adjacent to the flow chamber 36, thereby defining a passage forsliding movement of a poppet valve 41. Flange type seals 42 bear againstthe shaft 43 of the poppet valve 41 which are held in. place by clamps4-4.

The poppet valve has a reduced cross section 45 inside the inner flowchamber 36 and expands to form a poppet plug 46 at the right hand end ofthe body.

The valve body has a circular outlet 4-7 adapted to be closed by thepoppet plug 46, the flow chamber 36 interconnecting this outlet with theinlet conduit. A flangetype seal 48 is held to the inside of this outletby means of a seal clamp 49. This flange type seal has a frustoconicalannular flange 49a adapted to slide along the poppet plug to seal thespace between that plug and the valve body. This flange points towardthe flow chamber 36 so as to seal against pressurized fluids therein.Such seals are more fully described in the co-pending patent applicationof Van Leer Serial Number 180,590, filed August 5, 1950, entitled Seal,which is assigned to the same assignee as the instant application.

A spacer ring 50 is fixed to the clamp and is adapted to fit against theadapter body when the nozzle and adapter assembly are together. A flange51 is provided to serve as a stop for parts of interlock assemblies 52.These interlock assemblies are mounted to the nozzle body by means ofpivots 53.

An actuator housing 54 is attached to the nozzle body and has a centralregion in which the poppet valve shaft '43 can move. The shaft isconnected by means'of a'connecting rod 55 and crank pins 56, 57 to anactuator handle 58. This actuator handle is pin mounted by means of acrank pin 59 to the actuator housing 54, and pin 57 is spaced from pin59. The handle 58 conveniently has a grip 60 of a type which can begrasped by a hand covered with heavy mittens, and also has a hook 61which is a part of a safety feature to be described. There is also acut-out segment in the handle near the crank pin 59 into which one arm62 'of a latch63 can fit. This latch is pivotally mounted to theactuator housing 54 and has another arm 64 which projects towards thenozzle body.

This arm 64 is spring-loaded toward the poppet valve shaft 43 by meansof a spring 65 betweensaid latch 63 and the actuator housing 54. Thislatch 63 also has a projecting lug 66 extending therefrom for purposelater to be described.

The interlock assemblies 52 will now be described. These are provided at120 intervals around the nozzle body. The pivotal mounting of theseinterlock assemblies may best be seen in Fig. 6. The outer and largerbody is a retention member 67 which has a hook portion 68 at its endaway from the handle, along with a spacing shoulder 69 on the inside ofthe hook. At the opposite end of the interlock from the hook portion 68,and on the opposite side of the pivot 53 therefrom, there is provided aprojecting cam lug 70 which extends generally radially away from thecentral axis 37 of the-nozzle and which has a slanting cam-engagingsurface 71. at its radially outward extrmee. A spring 72 is inopposition between the valve body and the retention member '67 to springload the retention member so that the hook portion moves radially inwardtoward the centralaxis of the nozzle, and the projecting cam lug 70moves radially outward therefrom.

Inside this retention member 67, which member has a generally U shapedcross-section, there is a locking member 73 which is pivoted to the samepivot 53 as the retention member 67. This locking member has a slopingend 74 which may partly rest on flange 51 and said locking member isspring. loaded by means .of spring 75 so. .that the sloping end 74 isvforced toward-the central vaxis .37, and the end toward the; handleisforced away .from thecentral axis. At the endof. the locking membernearest the handle 58 there is a lug 76.

The interlocking and safety features of this nozzle and adapter assemblyare primarily controlled by meansof a cam plate 77 which is rotatablymounted between the nozzle body 32 and the actuator housing 54. This camis shown in complete detail in Figs. 7-10 and comprises a flat disc 78with an interrupted cylindrical flange 79, which flange is directedtoward the nozzle body, and away from the actuator handle 58. The camplate is provided with an interior notch 80 which will be positionedopposite the interlock 63 so that the projecting lug 66 can entertherein under certain circumstances. An exterior notch 81 is provided onthe periphery of the cam'plate to permit passage of the hook 61 to theinside of the flange 79. Three lug plates82 are provided on the insidewhich are engageable with the lugs 76 on the locking members 73.

A handling ring 83 is attached to the cam plate 77 which generallysurrounds the actuator housing 54 and provides a grip for the nozzleassembly. This handling ring is conveniently attached to the cam plateby means of legs 84.

"As a means for guiding the nozzles to their proper position forconnection with an adapter, a shell 85 is prowided which fits inside thefill mating member 16 as shown in Fig. 1.

In the handling of fluids such as white fuming nitric acid, it isnecessary to vent the tank being filled back to the supply source so asto provide for overflow and also for disposition of hazardous fumes. Forthe return means, the same adapter and nozzle as described aresatisfactory. To prevent confusion of nozzles and adapters when returnlines are used in the fueling of tanks with hazardous materials, thereturn nozzle and adapter may advantageously be provided with a shell 86which has a different end shape than shell 85, so as to fit in a returnmating member 87 on a return adapter, shell 86 not fitting in member 16,and shell 85 not fitting in member 87. These shells may conveniently beattached to their nozzles by springy bends'88 attached at one end to thenozzle body and at the other end to the shell. The shell therebyprovides a certain resilience in the event the nozzle is dropped.

The operation of the nozzle and adapter combination will now bedescribed. The aim is to provide an absolutely safe means for fillingtanks with hazardous liquids such as white fuming nitric acid, wherethere must be absolute certainty that there can be no accidental openingof the discharge nozzle, nor of the adapter. Of equal importance is thenecessity that the nozzle and adapter be absolutelylocked to each otherwhile the nozzle is open,

so that the nozzle cannot be removed from the adapter while the nozzleis open. These restrictions result in a fool-proof means for assuringthat fluids will pass only into the tank.

' In order to connect the nozzle to the adapter it is only necessary toplace the nozzle centrally on the adapter and push the nozzle toward theadapted body with the shell '85 inserted into the fill mating member 16.Since the retention members 67 are spring loaded, they may be forcedapart by the shoulder 21a on the adapter body 13.

'This moves the hook portions 68 outward until they snap over the edgeof the adapter body. Thereafter the nozzle cannot be withdrawn from theadapter without releasing 'the hook portions-68. These hook portionswill snap inwardly until the spacing shoulder 69 rests against the outeredge of the adapter body 13, and be held in that position by springs 72.It will be noted that there is no uniquely .the cam, thereby preventingrotation of the cam in one .directionxpast-the lugs 76. Also until thishooked position is reached, the hook 61 on the actuator handle 58 isunderneath the flange 79 of the cam plate, and the handle cannot bemoved until the cam plate can be turned so as to move the second notch81 even with hook 61.

It will therefore be seen that until the cam plate can be turned, thehandle cannot be moved, and that the cam plate cannot be turned untilthe retention members 67 have snapped over the ends of the adapter body13 and the sloping ends 74 of locking members 73 have been forcedradially outward by the adapter body so as to move the lugs 76 out ofthe path of the lug plates 82 on the cam.

When the nozzle is locked on to the adapter the locking members 78 aretilted so that lugs 76 no longer impede the lug plates 82. Then the camplate can be turned so that exterior notch 81 will permit the lifting ofthe handle. The lifting of the handle will move the latch 63 so that itsprojecting lug moves into interior notch 80, and locks the cam againstrotaion while the handle is in a position to permit fluid flow.

At this time the poppet plug 46 will bear against the valve plug 27,pulling the actuated handle 58 over center to the position illustratedin Fig. 1 having moved the valve plug 27 off its seat to open a passagefrom the supply conduit through the inner flow chamber 36, past theadapter and into the tank. The flow will continue until the actuatorhandle is pulled back so as to slide the poppet back into the reducedcross section 45 and seal said cross section and also to permit thevalve plug 27 to seat and close the tank.

During the time that the handle is in the open position, the retentionmembers cannot let go, since the lug 66 on latch 63 is moved by thisaction into the notch 80 so as to prevent the cam from being rotated.Only when the handle is closed can the latch again move so that the arm64 withdraws from notch 80 and the cam plate can be turned. At thisvalve-closed position, it is safe to remove the nozzle from the adapter.However, in order to release the locking members the cam plate must berotated by the handling ring. Such rotation moves the exterior notch 81out of the path of the hook portion 61 so that the handle is locked bythe interrupted cylindrical flange 79, and the nozzle cannot then beopened.

This turning of the cam also serves to unlock the retention members 61by means of the impingement against the interrupted cylindrical flange79 on the slanting camengaging surfaces 71 as shown in dashline in Fig.8. This moves the retention member so that the hook portion releases theadapter body and the nozzle can be removed. As the nozzle is removed,the locking members 73 are moved by their springs so as to place thelugs 76 in the path of the lug plates 81 so that the cam plate cannot berotated until the nozzle is once more connected with the adapter.

Thus it will be appreciated that a nozzle and adapter combination forhandling hazardous liquids is provided in which there is no possibilitythat the fluids can escape by careless handling of the mechanism. Thisdevice contains a minimum of moving parts and isof rugged construction.All locks are positive, and dropping or jarring the nozzle will notcause leakage. The shells provide nozzle body protection, as does thehandling ring, so that rough usage causes a minimum of damage.

I claim:

1. A nozzle and adapter combination for filling a tank with fluid from aconduit, said nozzle connecting with the conduit for control of flowtherethrough, and said adapter being attachable to a tank so as normallyto close a hole therein, comprising: an adapter comprising an adapterbody having a central axis and a passage therethrough for permittingfluid flow from one side of the adapter to the other, a closure memberfor closing said passage, said closure normally closing said passage andbeing movably mounted so as to permit fluid flow through said passage,and hook engaging means so disposed and arranged so as to be outside thetank when the adapter is installed thereon; and a nozzle comprising anozzle body having a central axis, an opening through a side thereof andan internal flow chamber interconnecting said conduit and said outlet, apoppet valve adapted to plug said outlet in one position and to opensaid outlet in another position, an actuator handle mounted on thenozzle, said poppet being slidable by movement of said handle, a camplate rotatably mounted with respect to the nozzle body, andinterlocking means pivotally mounted to said nozzle comprising aretention member having a hook portion adapted to grasp said hookengaging means and a locking member so disposed and arranged that in oneposition it prevents rotation of the cam plate in one direction bystanding in the way of the cam plate, and in another position permitssuch rotation, said interlocking means being tiltable and spring loadedso that a portion of the interlocking means changes its distance fromthe central axis when the nozzle is connected and disconnected to andfrom the adapter, and latching means actuatable by said actuator handlepivotally mounted so as to be moved to prevent rotation of said camplate in a first position of the handle and to permit rotation of thecam plate in a second position of said handle, said second positionbeing possible only when the nozzle is closed; whereby pressing thenozzle against the adapter causes the retention members to engage thehook engagement means thereby holding the nozzle and adapter together,and the locking member to release the cam plate for rotation, wherebythe handle can be turned to move the poppet and open the outlet in thenozzle body and also to open the adapter, and whereby the interlockingmeans prevent the detaching of the nozzle from the adapter when thepoppet valve is open.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the hook engaging means is acontinuous flange on said adapter, whereby the nozzle may be engagedwith the adapter at any angular position relative thereto around saidcentral axis and in which the cam plate is provided with lug platesengageable with said interlocking means and in which said cam plate hasan interior notch for engagement with said latching means, and also hasan exterior notch, and in which the actuator handle has a hook which canpass through said exterior notch in one position of said cam plate andcannot pass through said exterior notch in another position of said camplate whereby the actuator handle is restrained from movement in atleast one position of said cam plate.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the closure member of theadapter is a spring-loaded valve plug movable along the central axis ofthe nozzle by the poppet valve of said nozzle, whereby fluid flow canoccur through the nozzle and the adapter simultaneously.

4. Apparatus acording to claim 1 in which there are provided a pluralityof interlocking means spaced around the central axis of the nozzle, saidinterlocking means rotating in a plane passing through said centralaxis.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the hook engaging means is acontinuous flange on said adapter, whereby the nozzle may be engagedwith the adapter at any angular position relative thereto around saidcentral axis, and in which the pivoted interlocking means move radiallytoward and away from said central axis.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,041,735 Young May 26, 1936 2,444,414 Anderson et al. July 6, 19482,461,312 Dahlem Feb. 8, 1949 2,565,872 Melsheimer Aug. 28, 19512,679,407 Badger May 25, 1954

